Digoin

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Digoin
Digoin coat of arms
Digoin (France)
Digoin
region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department Saône-et-Loire
Arrondissement Charolles
Canton Digoin (main town)
Community association Grand Charolais
Coordinates 46 ° 29 ′  N , 3 ° 59 ′  E Coordinates: 46 ° 29 ′  N , 3 ° 59 ′  E
height 222-306 m
surface 34.72 km 2
Residents 7,817 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 225 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 71160
INSEE code 71176
Website http://www.digoin.fr/

Canal bridge over the Loire

Digoin is a French town with a population of 7817 (status 1 January 2017) in the Department Saône et Loire in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comte , directly at the border of the neighboring region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .

geography

The city is located on the right bank of the Loire , at the confluence of the Arroux tributary . In addition, the following shipping channels meet here:

Thus Digoin is at an important crossroads of the French inland waterways.

history

A large number of flint leaf tips dating from the Solutréen (Paleolithic) were found near Digoin, in Volgu , which indicates a very early human settlement. Further Gallo-Roman and Merovingian traces of a settlement have been found. The place was known under the Latin name Denegontium , later Digonium .

For several centuries the city's activities developed on the banks of the river, where a port on the Loire had been established. From there, wine from the Mâcon and Chalon-sur-Saône region , wood from the Morvan and stone blocks were exported to the Loire Valley and Paris .

At the end of the 18th century, the construction of the Canal du Charolais (today: Canal du Center ) was driven from Burgundy to connect the Saône with the Loire. This canal became navigable from 1794 and intensified the problems with the unreliable navigability of the Loire.

With the construction of the Roanne-Digoin Canal (1832) and the Loire Lateral Canal, navigation on the Loire itself gradually reduced and ceased entirely during the second half of the 19th century. A stone canal bridge 243 meters long (eleven arches) enables the central canal to be linked with the Loire side canal. At the end of the 19th century, water from the Arroux River was diverted at Gueugnon and fed into the Canal du Center via a supply canal east of the city in order to improve the canal's water supply. At that time, this channel was navigable for small ships. In the 1950s, the port of Gueugnon was closed and shipping on this supply channel was discontinued.

Even after the decline of inland shipping, Digoin was an important traffic junction for rail and road connections due to its central length.

Thanks to the good transport links, Digoin was able to expand its economy with the settlement of pottery and the earthenware industry of Sarreguemines .

Culture and sights

  • Digoin canal bridge (built in 1834). It connects the Loire Lateral Canal with the Center Canal and spans the Loire.
  • ObservaLoire (Interactive exhibition on the Loire River)
  • Notre-Dame de la Providence Church (built 1869)
  • Ceramic Museum
  • Chiseuil Castle (18th century)

Community partnerships

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Digoin  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Digoin  - travel guide